Today is Mac's birthday...it's hard to believe that this time last year, I was anxiously waiting to meet her for the very first time!

There was a time that my husband and I thought we weren't going to be able to have children, but God has truly blessed us with two precious little girls! And, each day, I thank him for allowing me the privilege to be their Mama.

Now, it's hard to imagine life without Mac and amazing to think that a whole year has already gone by!

We had planned a huge celebration, but due to the weather (we received 12+ inches of snow!), her party has been postponed. So, we were able to selfishly enjoy her all to ourselves today!

Thursday, January 28, 2010

For our stART project, we readHow To Build A Snowman. It's a cute, simple book with different textures on each page. It's an excellent book to use for Izzie's "speech therapy" and Mac loved the touchy feel parts.

Izzie created an adorable little snowman (printable) while reciting the book.

This week, she also completed several other Snowman activities, including...

Writing Practice (printable) I decided to turn this into a File Folder activity (laminated), so she can easily wipe off the washable marker and try again. She's doing well with straight lines, the curvy lines are still a little tricky!

Izzie has been having the hardest time learning how to use scissors and we have been practicing for months with several different types of scissors. Well, I finally found a Melissa and Doug scissor set that she can easily manipulate! She is so excited to be cutting....everything! So, this snowman scissor skill page was a huge hit, even though she is nowhere near cutting the dotted lines, she still had fun "just cutting"! (No idea why I didn't get a picture of her using her new scissors...the blue pair is her favorite.)

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Izzie is really enjoying her Melissa and Doug magnetic letters! We're finding a lot of fun and simple activities to do with them. The most recent...matching lowercase and capital letters on the refrigerator.

Saturday, January 23, 2010

We are finally getting back to Story Time at the library. Izzie loves going to the library...she likes singing the songs, listening to the stories, making a craft, and playing with the other children. Before, Mac arrived, I took Izzie to the library 2-3 times a week, but this past year, we were lucky to get there once a month. I really want to make a better effort of getting the girls there, so my goal this year is to take the girls to the library at least once a week. Well, this week, we actually made it there twice!

For one story time craft, Izzie was able to make ice-skates and had the best time "skating" around the library. It was adorable to see a group of children skating around on decorated paper plates! Izzie had a lot of fun ice-skating at home too!

If you haven't checked out your local library's children programs, I would highly recommend you to do so! There are so many fun activities at the library!

Thursday, January 21, 2010

We had a playdate at our local Children's Museum, where Izzie always has so much fun! This was Mac's first time at the Museum and she had a lot of fun too!

Izzie is starting to become very interested in the human body, so she was thrilled to put the skeleton back together. It was nice that there was a life-size skeleton standing next to this exhibit, it allowed Izzie to "copy" the skeleton.

Both girls really enjoyed the market area.

Izzie was so proud of herself. This was her first visit going down the "big" barn slide by herself! She continued and continued...

Mac loved riding the bear!

When I asked Izzie what her favorite part was...she quickly responded, "Being A Princess!"

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Okay, how did everyone do during their first week? I didn't stick (exactly) to my eating plan and unfortunately, I didn't even start my exercise plan...I know...the first week and I'm already off track! To my defense, we have been debating whether or not to put our house on the market and suddenly decided to go for it. So, last week, I was a crazy woman trying to get the house clean and organized...I think that should count as "exercise"! Well, our house is currently on the market as of Monday and we had our first showing on Tuesday night...no contract, but we heard today that they are coming back on Sunday for a second showing (fingers crossed). In spite of all this, I was able to loose 2.6 pounds, so my current weight is 160.2. I would love to know how you're doing too!

Saturday, January 16, 2010

I just found out that Shutterfly is offering a FREE 16x20 Calendar Poster until January 17 (midnight)! You only have to pay shipping, which is $4.99. In order to get the calendar, sign into your Shutterfly account, scroll down to the bottom and click on "My Special Offers", then on the right hand side where it asks, "Do you have a special offer code?"...type in "FREECALENDAR"...it will then appear under your special offers!!!

Izzie received these Melissa and Doug Lacing Beads for her birthday back in September, but wasn't interested in them until recently. I really like how this set contains beads with numbers and shapes. It's great for fine motor skills and will be handy to practice pattern skills too.

Thursday, January 14, 2010

When I first started surfing blogs, I found this amazing blog, Confessions Of A Homeschooler! Then, I started blogging and completely forgot about this blog...I have no idea how that happened. Well, I was surfing around over the weekend and rediscovered it and fell in love all over again!

I printed off these Snowman Number Cards and had Izzie practice putting numbers 1-10 in correct number sequence.

She used the same cards to practice 1:1 correspondence with foam snowflake stickers.

And the same cards to color match with clothespins. Izzie still has a difficult time manipulating the clothespins. Since she knows her colors, this activity was more for practicing fine motor skills.

I love being able to use one printable for numerous activities. It saves paper and most importantly, time!

Saturday, January 9, 2010

So, I normally write about Izzie's preschool days at home and my craft adventures...

Now, once a week, I'll be posting about my post-baby weight loss journey. I gained 60 pounds with Mac, who will be 1 year old at the end of January and I'm still lugging around 23 "baby" pounds. I'm a huge fan of the Biggest Loser and decided to participate in the Pound For Pound Challenge this season. So, Tuesday I weighed in at 162.8, yep, I'm even disclosing my weight, which will hold me accountable each week to stick to my eating plan and exercise program! I'm hoping to be at my pre-pregnancy weight of 140 or less at the Biggest Loser Finale in May.

I'm looking for some Blogger Friends, who are up for the challenge too! Feel free to post a comment with your name/blog and starting weight and/or pounds to loose. I'm officially starting the Challenge this Tuesday, January 12. Each Tuesday, I'll have a quick update and would love to hear about your progress too!

I first discovered Me & Marie a few months back and I LOVEall of her wonderful educational activities, especially her learning packs! Each learning pack is full of unique learning activities and amazing printables! Click here and here to see the reviews that I have written about her products.She has created new Baggie Games, Winter and Farm! These would be perfect to have in your purse for your little ones when you're waiting at the doctor's office or a restaurant. She is currently giving away the Winter Baggie game on her blog...be sure to check out her blog for more details! Hurry, the offer ends on Saturday, January 9, 2010.

Friday, January 8, 2010

I was looking for a cute and simple gift to make my Aunt for her birthday when I stumbled upon fabric wreaths.

It was super easy to make. I simply took a wire clothes hanger and bent it in the shape of a circle and then tied individual pieces of fabric around it until I got it "fluffed" to my liking. I bought 1/4 of yard of 3 different fabric designs at Wal-mart for a total of around $4. I cut the fabric into 6 inch strips that were about 1 1/2 inches wide. I included a clear wreath hanger for her too, which I found in the Christmas section of Wal-mart on sale for 48 cents!

I love the way it turned out and I'm excited to make a few more for upcoming birthday gifts!

Thursday, January 7, 2010

Since, this was Mac's first Christmas, I wanted a memorable handprint. And, since I adore handprints, I assumed that my Mom and Mother-In-Law would like them too! I made each of them the below framed art of Izzie and Mac. They both really liked their gift!

Great memorable keepsake for under $10! I bought the frames at Michael's on sale for $9 each and used scrapbooking paper and Mod Podge that I had on hand.

About Me

I am a former teacher turned stayed at home mom of two adorable girls, Izzie and Mac. I have been married for 11 years to my wonderful, supportive, and loving husband. I'm always looking for great educational materials and resources, fun activities and crafts, and tasty recipes!